Amur Tigers

[peter]

(05-02-2021, 02:31 PM)Panthera Wrote: Rare record, Wild Amur tiger go into Chinese village and shattered car windows on 23th of last month(10 days ago)
As far as I got information from news, the individual is male at 2~3 years old (225kg)

The subtitle language can choose into English

No subtitle language options, but the video is longer
4:20 there is clear head image

During a trip to Russia to explore the country, the tiger concluded China wasn't as bad as he initially thought. He decided to return. The trip back, however, didn't go smoothly. My guess is he was in a hurry, as he travelled in daylight. 

Out in the open in a treeless region he didn't know, he most probably felt uncomfortable. This could be the reason he decided to seek shelter in a village. When he was discovered, he had no option but to leave. As he was seen and followed, he felt trapped. This, most probably, was the reason he decided to confront those he considered responsible for the situation.  

The video suggests the woman working on the field wasn't even aware of him. My guess is the tiger also concluded she didn't pose a threat when he was closing in. This could be the reason she wasn't attacked, but just bumped. The woman immediately got to her feet, meaning the tiger, at least twice, if not three times her weight, hadn't used any force. When he was moving towards the woman, another woman driving a car decided to intervene in order to discourage him. Seen from the perspective of the tiger, it was an aggressive move, if not a threat. This is the reason he decided to use a bit more force. Although he broke a window, nobody was hurt.  

The violence used, therefore, was proportionate in both cases. When we add the tiger was a young man out of his comfort zone facing a situation he could have perceived as life-threatening, we can only conclude he acted in a very mature way.   

When I saw the video, I immediately thought of Jim Corbett. Although he, more than most others, had good reasons to consider tigers as dangerous (Corbett hunted man-eaters for many years), he got to a remarkable conclusion:

" ... There is, however, one point on which I am convinced that all sportsmen ... will agree with me, and that is, that a tiger is a large-hearted gentlemen with boundless courage ... ('Man-Eaters of Kumaon', Jim Corbett, London, 1947, Author's Note, pp. xvi). Reply